Babar Azam's reappointment as Pakistan captain surprising, says Imad Wasim

Pakistan left-arm spinner Imad Wasim has said that the entire Pakistan was surprised after Babar Azam was reappointed as skipper of the country's white-ball set-up.

Wasim, while speaking in an interview with Saj Sadiq, a Pakistan journalist, said that though he was surprised by the call of the Pakistan Cricket Board to appoint Babar as captain once again, he could do nothing because it was a call by the selectors. 

“Yes, I was surprised,” Wasim replied on being asked about Babar’s return as Pakistan captain after a break of only six months. “What can I say, it’s ultimately the selector’s call. Whatever they thought was the best option, they picked and they picked the team [accordingly].”

“Everybody in Pakistan was surprised, not just me. So, I can’t say no that I was not surprised,” he added. 

Babar relinquished his captaincy after the Pakistan team failed to make it to the semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2023. Shaheen Afridi replaced him but was able to win only one match as skipper for the team in a five-match series against New Zealand. 

Just ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024, Babar replaced Shaheen as the team’s white-ball captain while Shan Masood remained the red-ball skipper of Pakistan. 

Babar is currently playing in the Champions One-Day Cup 2024 and he scored 76 in the first-game for his team Stallions. For the Stallions, Babar is playing under the captaincy of Mohammad Haris.

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